ISLAMABAD: The caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs, Dr Aneeq Ahmed, unveiled the Haj Policy 2024 on Thursday, saying that the upcoming Haj will be less expensive than the previous one.
Under the Haj policy 2024, the interim government has introduced a short package for 20 days, which will cost around Rs80,000 more than the normal Haj package.
Last year, Haj expenses exceeded Rs1.17 million, while this year, it would be around Rs1.07m, a reduction of Rs100,000 without compromising on services or quality.
Essential items, including a large travel bag with QR coding (30 kg capacity), a hand-carry bag (7 kg capacity), Pakistani flag scarves for women’s identification, Ahram belts for male pilgrims, and designated bags for shoes, would be provided free of charge, the minister added.
“A mobile SIM with 7 GB data would be supplied for mandatory use during the stay in Saudi Arabia while a dedicated mobile application, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology, would offer training, tracking, and guidance both online and offline, caretaker religious minister said.
Addressing eligibility criteria, Minister Aneeq clarified that individuals who performed Hajj from 2017 to 2023 would not be eligible this year.
The religious affairs minister said the Haj quota for Pakistan is 17,9210, and will be equally distributed between the government and private Haj operators.
Overseas Pakistanis can perform Haj under the sponsorship scheme, and they can even nominate someone on their behalf, but payments will only be accepted in US dollars.
He added that apart from Islamabad airport, Karachi has also been included in the Road to Makkah project.
Banks can start receiving applications under the regular scheme from November 27 to December 12, he added.
